“I get it, believe me,” Nicole T. Green, a 36-year-old African-American woman, told The Times. “But what’s hard for people to understand is that she didn’t mean it as racist. It sounds bad, but that’s not what’s in her heart. She’s just from another time.”

After being dropped by Food Network, other pieces of Deen’s media empire remain in question. Forbes estimates her net worth at $17 million, which includes a large presence in the publishing world. Hoffman Media, which publishes the bimonthly Cooking With Paula Deen, said Saturday it was “not in a position to discuss her magazine and contract right now.”

Deen also is set to publish a new recipe book, Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up, in mid-October. Random House is "closely monitoring the situation" surrounding Deen, a company spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.

The Deen controversy began Wednesday when a transcript of a videotaped court deposition was unearthed. In the deposition, Dean admitted to using racial slurs in the past. She and her brother Bubba Hiers are being sued by the former manager of their Savannah restaurants, Lady and Sons and Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House. The suit claims Deen and her brother committedmultiple acts of violence, discrimination and racism.

On Friday, Deen canceled an appearance on the Today show and issued a series of video apologies for her behavior.

While receiving support from fans, Deen has been mocked elsewhere – from biting jokes from Hollywood tweeters to a lengthy segment on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.